Recommendation 12

As part of their annual outreach strategies RALOs should continue to put a high priority on the organisation of and participation in external events in their region (IGF, RIR ISOC, etc.). CROPP and other funding mechanisms should be provided to support the costs of organisation and participation of At-Large members.

ALAC input to a coordinated ICANN Outreach sub-optimal.

The ALAC supports this recommendation. The use of the word “continue” in the recommendation implies, as is the case, that this strategy is already an ongoing practice and subject to ICANN funding, it will continue and hopefully grow. The CROP (formerly CROPP) is a good start in supporting this activity, as is occasional GSE support of external activities. Recently the CROP fund (previously catering for three days and two nights) was increased so that it has become four days and three nights. This more closely fits into the type of regional meetings being attended and allows the traveler to more fully participate without having to either miss critical parts of the event or self-fund additional days. Requests for CROP allow RALO membership to participate in regional IGFs, regional SIGs, and other regional events. Nevertheless, members are also sometimes co-sponsored by other localised funding sources, in order to enable more flexible participation. 

The ALAC notes that this recommendation is phrased largely as an outreach endeavour. It is clear that the effectiveness of RALOs and their members benefits from involvement with regional activities such as IGFs and RIR meetings. It is less clear that these are effective outreach mechanisms.

This is a current strategy and is carried out to the extent that volunteer time, staff time, and funding allows (e.g. ICANN funding, localized funding resources). Significant enhancement will require significant funding and staff support